Summer Palace

Lou Ye’s masterful. passionate epic shadows a group of friends over fourteen years of Chinese history- a time when their personal lives become as tumultuous as the world  around them. The Chinese goverment banned Lou from directing for five years due to the film’s controversaial sexual explicitness and its portayal of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

world made by hand by James Howard Kunstler

In Science-fiction stories, the future is often far from happy and filled with dystopian cities. his new novel World Made By hand, isn’t exactly sci-fi, but it’s of a piece with the post-apocalyptic specultive genre, vividly imaging a world destroied by terrorism and global warming. Here, society has developed to a pre-19th-centry level: there are no cars because there is no gasline, roads are in disrepair, train’s don’t run, and planes don’t fly. A place like Union Grove, the upstate of New York country town where is the novel is set, is unusually fortunate just for having running water. World Made By Hand’s scenario sometimes feels like a fictionalization of Kunsler’s 2005 book,The Long Emergency, which discussed the looming catastrophic oil shortage, but the novel fleshes out  the previous book’s abstraction: hungry people eat dogs, everybody farms, minor illnesses are dreaded because there are no antibiotics, and destistry is performed with foot-pedaled drilles and marijuana. Small fiefdoms arise, as do gangs thet recall the thuggery of the road warrior. Kunsler makes only a cursory allusion to the disasters that led to this fate-the end of oil imports, a terrorist bomb that destroied Los angles,which instantly sent the economy in the tank, followed by one that obliterated Washington D.C, thus shattering the goverment. (the seat of  national goverment keeps switching from Chicago toMinneapolis, but no one is sure which- the radio only comes on for 20 mins a day and then  mainly to boardcast the ratings of preachers proclaiming armageddon.) Add severe global warming- temperatures are in the 90s from May through October in the Northeast-and you have a frightened , fragmented populace,desperate to escape collapsing cities and doing so with much violence and mayhem. To make this story succeed, Kunstler employs a half dozen strong characters, led by Earle, who’s  brokenhearted over the disappearence of his son and charged with managing Union Grove’s lawlessness, even while traveling through ravaged countryside to the lawless precincts of Albany. World Made By Hand is not a simple survivalist tale so much as it is a study of despair. Kunstler explores the realization that things are not going to change for the better and that there is  no way, no telephone, e-mail, or postal system, to communicate with lost loved ones. But the odd character here and there finds a way to make  life bearable, and some come to  prefer their new world to the magic of the old one. how and why they do so is the core of this novel, and Kunsler’s emotional understanding places the book well outside the confines of  genre fiction; it’s a story about the end of the world, but Kunstlerunderstands that losing a child can be harder to endure that losing an entire civilization.

by Eve Ottenburg

Brits see the ‘light’

history of calotype photography examined at National Gallery

by Michael Coleman

As it was first being practiced in mid-19th-centry Britian comes to vivid life in a well-organized new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art.

“Impressed by light: British Photographs from Paper Negativs,1840-1860″ is  an enteraining tutorial on the history of one of phoyograph’s oldest techniques-the calotype. Invented by William Henry Fox Talbot, the calotype shortened previously long exposure times by casting a latent image onto sensitised paper that could then be developed by coating it in chemicals.

Although it was expedient and allowed for multiple copies of a photograph, the method lacked fine detail and tended to amass light and shadows.That turned off many serious photographers, who preferred collodion on glass.

Despite its demise in the 1850s,calotypeing apparently continued to hold great sway among the hobbyists and casual photographers of mid-19-centry Britian for its aesthetic appeal. In fact, many of the more captivating images in the “impressed by light” collection are the creation of then unknown photograpgers.

The exhibition’s first section, however, forcuses on Talbot and the small cadre of calotypiests he had taught, as well as a few other devoted practioners. Among the more striking images in this first group is Talbot’s own work- a photograph of a simple haystack. but as Talbot himself noted, the calotype recorded “a multitude of details which no artist would take the trouble to copy faithfully from nature.”

“tree with tangled roots” by Hugh Owen shows us a gnarled, desccated but unyielding mass of roots  near a riverbank. The tree is determined to hang un, and the image carefully revels the path of the roots as they twist and turn through rock and stone. themes of survial and endurance were central to the era.

James mudd’s “the yard of Beyer Peacock railway engine Manufacurers” was unique in that very few photographers were interested in capturing the new industrial technologies that characteried mid-victorian britian. The accompanying wall text explains how a prolongedexplosure renders this presumably busting yard as a still, even calming enviroment.

many of the photographers were taken by men of leisure who, through not professional photographers, had the time and money to pursure the art form as a serious hobby. There seems to be a  particular fascination with cliffs and seasides, and some of these images are the most intersting of all.

“view of dunnottar castle”, a ruined medieval fortress perched upon a precipitous rocky headland of the northeast coast of Scotland, is haunting in its inky solitude.

although many of the images are of nature and industry, some focus on actural human beings. John Muir Wood’s portait of his brother, George wood, is stricking for its intensity. the subject is dignified, self-assured and proud as evidenced by his formal top hat, carvat and other sartorial accountrements.by the way, the human subjects featured in the exhibition were apparently a serious lot.there is rarely even the hint of a smile to be found here.

The final section of the museum,titled “Under an Indian Sky”, showcases more calotype photos taken after British had seized full control of the Indian goverment.The exotic south Asian nation, previously remote and unknown to most Briton, become a photographic playground. A hounting photo of the bank of Delhi, for instance, shows damage to the bank inflicted by british troops when they fought to regain the city after an Indian uprising.

“Impressed by Light” is itself an impressive introduction to caloptype photography and successfully conveys the passion that photography has elicited then and today.

WABAN-AKI: people from where sun rise

Award-winning Native American filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin returns to her  roots in the Abenaki community  of Odanak,Quebec to creat a vivid portrait of her own people in the latest of her films exploring the history and evolution of aboriginal communities in North America,Through painstaking resaerch and extensive interviews, she investigates how a people that once occupied much of what we now call New England, the Maritimes and southeastern Quebec could have been so severely reduced in numbers.  Chronicling the lives of a goroup of people who have sufferd from both economic exploitation and discrimination, the film also explores the issues of Native status. The Abenaki’s numbers have diminished  due to laws stating that if a woman marries a non Indian, she and her children are stripped of legal Native status. Apowerful fusion of the personal  and political, the film includes some beatiful autobiographical touches, such as Obomsawin herself singing.

Life in Kibera,Kenya

SLUM SURVIVORS

Woldwide, more than a billion people live in slums, with sa many as one million in Kibera, Afica’s lagest slums, in Kenya capital of Nairobi. This docummentary spotlights the lives of people live in Kibera and their remarkable courage in the face of extreme poverty. Carol, a single mother, scrambles daily to feed her three children. Dennis was forced out of school when his father left his mother for another women. Patrick, a child of alcoholics, cleans latrines for a living. Christina has a hole in heart but can not afford the medicine she needs. Abdul, a telecom engineer, has founded a free secondary school for girls to equalize oppertunities for the sexes in the country.

Cynthia Cooper/Dick Cheney

Extraordinary circumstances by Cynthia Cooper

Former Worldcom Chief Audit Executive Cynthia Cooper recounts her journey from her upbringing in a small Mississippi Town, to working  motherhood and corporate success, to the pressures of becoming a whistleblower, to being named one of Time’s 2002 Persons of Year in Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower.

 

Here we stand. We can do no other.

Did you know that-

.A majority of Americans want Congress to begin impeachment hearing against Vice President Dick Cheney? A total of 70% of American voters say that Cheney has abused his powers as vice president. 63% of Democrats say the abuses rise ti the level of impeachable offense and Cheney should be impeached and removed from office.

. Members of the House Judiciary Committee and other congress members are urging the committee chairman to begin the hearings?

. Several of Cheney’s (and Bush’s) impeachable offenses are so well documented that the hearing could, if desired, be completed in a day?

.Historically, most impeachment movements have happened late in a presidential term in office (some of them later than this one)?

.When the Democrats held Nixon to account, they won big in the next elections, but when they let Reagan off, they lost?

.When the Republicans impeached Bill Clinton, against the will of the people, they kept both houses of Congress anf the White House, losing only a handful of seats in the Senate (which had acquitted) , but maintaining the same majority in the House?

. With every decent bill guaranteed to be vetoed, and the only useful action on Iraq being a refusal to pass bills, impeachment will not be a distraction to Congress?

 

Then you have been reading ImpeachmentCheney.org!

Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies

Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies

While the grizzly bears is considered by many to be the most dangerous animal in the world, Canadian conservationist and bear expert Charlie Russell believes that grizzlies are misunderstood animals and that our fear of them is driving  them to extinction. For more than 10 years Russell has been raising orphaned grizzly bear cubs in the wildness of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and releasing them into the last remaining grizzly bear sanctuary in the world. The film followed Russell as he rescues two orphaned cubs from a zoo where they are soon to be killed and takes them to his cabin in the sanctuary. During one season, he has to teach them everything they need to know to survive in the wild:the lay of the land, what plants to eat, how to catch fish and how to escape from predatory male bears. Extraordinary scenes show Rusell encountering adult grizzlies and holding his ground while protecting his charges. Acting as a surrogate parent to bear cubs, Russell believes that grizzlies are not fearsome, aggressive killers and that humans and bears can peacefully and safely share our earth.

Ocean view fishing pier-longest pier in America

Hang up your gong fishin’ sign and crusie on over to Ocean view fishing Pier for a day’s catch. Or relax on our Upper Deck with music , good company and exquisite panoramas of America’s most beautiful bay.You might want to bring your camera.

Overlooking the scenic Chesapeake Bay, the Ocean View Fishing Pier offers  complete facilities and equipment for everyone who lives and loves to fish. Just off interstate64 in Norfolk.virginia, the pier streches out 1690 feet into the Bay into of East coast’s most bountiful fishing grounds.

Located on site are a Bait house,a restraunt, a game room and restrooms.It is also equipped for catered parties, receptions and banquets for groups up to 500 peoples.

At Ocean View Fishing Pier the living is easy.And yes,the fishing are jumping.Summertime and all the time,open 24 hours daily in the summer!

A Life : the story of Lady Bird Johnson

The first lady’s lasting legacy to nation is celebrated in this film biography. As first lady,Johnson was a pioneer in the enviromental movement, organizing a national effort to beatify the highways, neighborhoods and communities. The film, directed by  former Georgetowner and muti-Academy Award winner Charles Guggenheim will be introduced by sideney Hart, senior historian at the potrait Gallery. A discussion with Bess Abell, Johnson’s social secretary from 1963 to1969, and film maker Grace guggenheim will follow the screening. doors open at 6:30pm; first come, first served. National Potrait Gallery,8th and F Street,NW.March21,2008.

Bai Ling

She has copped a plea in her shoplifting case. The actress was charged earlier this week with petty theft for allegedly trying to take a pack of batteries and two Star magzines worth $16.22 from a store at Los Angeles International Airport. In the plea  deal requested her attorney, she agreed Wednsday to plead guilty to disturbing the peace and to pay a fine and pennalties totaling for $700. In a massage posted on her blog, however, the actress proclaimed “I’m innocent” below a photo of herself giving the thumbs-up signal.

From Express.